The four years of the CSR (Comprehensive Spending Review) period will affect us all. Something had to be done. Every day we are paying £120 million in interest on the national debt. We have the biggest budget deficit in the entire G20. This group contains the top 19 industrial nations plus the European Union, representing some 85% of the total world GNP (Gross National Product). Our deficit stands out as the largest in this august group. In meeting our interest payments, we are sending billions of pounds overseas to invest in the public services of foreign governments.
It is all very well to refer to a global problem but our track record under the previous government stands out for all the wrong reasons. We had six consecutive quarters of economic contraction. This was also the longest period in the G20 and more quarters of negative growth than any major economy.
Our new government had to act while committing to protect some areas of spending. Commendably and remarkably it has been possible to provide increases in real terms to the budgets for the NHS inEnglandover the CSR period. Other areas have sadly had to make higher savings to compensate but this had to be done to create a brighter future in the longer term. Certainly nobody could sensibly take Labour’s ‘advice’ to simply halve the deficit over four years. That would add a further £100 billion of debt for future generations.
As a result of the savings being made, local government will feel financial pain in the interest of our collective better prospects for the future. We had built into our planning assumptions a seven percent year-on-year reduction in government grant to Crawley Council. This prediction is quite close to what has been announced but it is possible that the savings will be front-loaded on to the early years of the CSR period. They could also be split unevenly across the local government sector. If that happens, our actual grant reduction could be a double-digit percentage in the 2011-2012 financial year.
Such a reduction will make life challenging but our recent experience in identifying our own recurring savings of £6 million per year since 2006 puts Crawley Council in a relatively good position. In responding to government savings requirements, we will do our best to protect front-line services and the most vulnerable people. Going further, we will look for new service opportunities as well.
Part of our responsible future involves an increase in partnership working and sharing service delivery while at least preserving the standards of what we do. To this end, we work in a ‘Better Together’ collaborative framework with the other seven principal West Sussex Councils.
A particular issue will be the need to effectively prioritise the delivery of more affordable housing. The government has abolished national housing targets but it cannot abolish need, which we can at least now identify locally. Savings have been made in national housing budgets and we need creative thinking to respond to these changes and help our fellow citizens. Our capacity and our thinking will be put to the test but I have no problem with this. That is what we are there for.
Councillor Bob Lanzer, Leader of Crawley Borough Council
27th October 2010